|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Cancer Research Center Takes the Venture Route
|
|
By Brian Gormley, WSJ Pro
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good day. The Moffitt Cancer Center plans to hatch oncology-focused startups through a new “venture studio” that the institution hopes will eventually generate a pool of capital it can reinvest in its research and patient care.
The Tampa, Fla.-based cancer center plans to create six to nine companies over the next four to five years, said Dr. Kamal Jethwani, who is heading the new AccelerOnc Studio. It will initially advance Moffitt innovations, but over time plans to go beyond those developed in-house.
Like many other institutions, Moffitt has been squeezed by cuts to federal research funding and to reimbursement for medical care, making its foray into venture more urgent.
“This provides a different avenue and a different way to finance our research and bring products to market faster,” Jethwani said.
The studio will vet ideas from Moffitt and launch companies that could later attract outside venture capital.
Launching a venture studio requires a significant commitment of time and resources by a cancer center, which is why the model isn’t more common, said Ben Freeberg, founder and managing partner of Oncology Ventures.
Moffitt Cancer Center is a limited partner in Oncology Ventures’ fund, he said, adding he would like to see more cancer centers create venture studios like Moffitt’s.
“Moffitt is taking an innovative step to doing something that should be more commonplace,” Freeberg said.
And now on to the news...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Glooko, a provider of digital-health and remote-patient monitoring systems for diabetes, raised a $100 million venture round late last year. PHOTO: GLOOKO
|
|
|
|
|
|
Healthtech M&A. Healthcare-technology mergers and acquisitions are rising, delivering liquidity to venture capitalists and consolidating an industry that swelled during the pandemic investment boom.
-
Globally, there were 102 healthtech M&A deals in the first half of this year, nearly as many as the 112 in all of 2024 and the 109 for the full-year 2023, according to market tracker PitchBook Data.
-
Stabilizing valuations, the revival of healthtech initial public offerings and improved clarity about regulatory and economic policy are fueling much of the activity this year, investors said.
-
Several venture-backed companies in healthtech—a sector that includes artificial-intelligence systems, telehealth and remote-patient monitoring—have turned profitable and are absorbing smaller outfits.
|
|
|
|
|
102
|
|
The number of healthcare-technology merger-and-acquisition deals globally in the first half of this year, according to PitchBook Data.
|
|
|
|
|
Want to Know Your Future Breast-Cancer Risk? Just Ask AI
|
|
|
What are the odds that you will get breast cancer in the next few years? Soon, AI might tell you the answer. Researchers and companies are designing artificial-intelligence models to predict a woman’s near-future breast-cancer risk, as well as risks of lung cancer and other diseases. The AI algorithms are trained on mammograms from past patients, some of whom would go on to develop breast cancer, to pinpoint who is most at risk before the disease is visible to the human eye.
|
|
RFK Jr.’s Team Wanted to Tout an Autism Therapy. He Went After Tylenol Instead.
|
|
|
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s team had decided by the beginning of September to tell Americans that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, was a possible cause of autism. But officials were divided over how much emphasis to put on the painkiller and were planning to discuss it as one of many possible causes, people familiar with the matter said. Doctors whom Kennedy had selected to lead key agencies under him—Jay Bhattacharya, Mehmet Oz and Marty Makary—suggested the big story should be leucovorin, a little-known generic drug in which they saw promise for alleviating autism symptoms. But a meeting with Tylenol’s maker convinced Kennedy to put the emphasis on acetaminophen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Funds
Medicine and vaccine developer Sanofi is providing an additional $625 million to its corporate venture capital arm, through a multi-year capital commitment. Sanofi Ventures’ total assets under management now exceed $1.4 billion.
People
Two Bear Capital, which focuses on life sciences and enterprise technology investments, appointed Neil White as partner. He most recently served as senior advisor at Emerson Collective.
Human health and sustainability-focused Flagship Pioneering appointed Yvonne Hao as chief operating officer and general partner. She most recently served as secretary of the executive office of economic development for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Ambience Healthcare, an AI platform for documentation, coding and clinical workflows, named Nikhil Buduma as chief executive officer. He replaces Mike Ng, who will transition to president and chairman. Buduma and Ng co-founded the company in 2020.
Future Family, a platform for fertility financing and insurance, appointed Alden Romney as chief executive and Claire Tomkins as executive chair.
Behavioral health provider Rula Health appointed Laura Palmer as chief revenue officer, Andrew Mok as chief marketing officer, and Linda Lee as chief people officer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Judi Health, a New York-headquartered health benefits technology provider formerly known as Capital Rx, landed a $400 million investment, including a $252 million Series F round. Wellington Management and General Catalyst led the funding, which included participation from Edison Partners and several others.
Avenzo Therapeutics, a San Diego-headquartered oncology therapy developer, closed a $60 million Series B round from investors including OrbiMed and New Enterprise Associates.
Until Labs, a San Francisco-based startup working on the development of organ cryopreservation for transplant patients and surgeons, scored $58 million in Series A funding. Founders Fund led the round, which included participation from Lux Capital and Field Ventures.
Ensoma, a Boston-based startup developing treatments for genetic diseases, immune disorders and cancer through in vivo hematopoietic stem cell engineering, completed a $53 million funding round from investors including Gilead, 5AM Ventures, F-Prime Capital and Catalio Capital Management.
Sunrise Group, a Belgium-based sleep health technology provider, picked up a $29 million investment. Eurazeo led the funding, which included additional support from Amazon’s Alexa Fund, Kurma Partners, Seventure Partners and others.
AmplifyMD, a Los Gatos, Calif.-based virtual-care platform, secured $20 million in Series B financing led by Forerunner Ventures.
Vocca, a provider of AI phone assistants for healthcare providers, grabbed a $5.5 million investment led by Speedinvest and Firstminute Capital.
Prosper AI, a New York-based voice AI platform for healthcare administration, was seeded with a $5 million investment led by Emergence Capital Partners.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Autism varies widely in severity from children who are nonverbal to those who are highly functioning but struggle with social interactions. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
